Beet-harvester.



0. H. BARTHOLOMEW.

BEET HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. a. 1914.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

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wuudoz OHMER H. BARTHOLOMEW, OF BEARDSTOWN, ILLINOIS.

IBEET-HARVESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

Application filed February 3, 1914. Serial No. 816,218.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OHMER H. BARTHOLO- MEW, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Beardstown, in the county of Cass and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBeet-Harvesters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for gathering beets, whereby as themachine is drawn over a field the roots or bodies will be withdrawn fromthe ground and conveyed to and delivered into a sack or other receptaclesupported at the rear of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for removingthe bodies from the ground and delivering them to the conveyer free ofsurplus dirt.

The invention also seeks to provide simple, compact and novel means foroperating the several working parts and finally, the invention seeks toimprove generally the construction and arrangement of the several partsof a machine for the stated purpose to the end that the durability andefliciency of the same may be increased while the cost of manufactureand up-keep will be kept toan economical basis. I

The invention-is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and consistsin certain novel features which will be hereinafter first fullydescribed and then more particularly pointed out in the claims followingthe description.

In the drawings: Figure l is a plan View of a machine embodying myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the uprootingmechanism taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a centrallongitudinal vertical section of the same, the machine being viewed fromthe side opposite that viewed in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is' a detail perspectiveview of the uprooting devices.

In carrying out my present invention, I employ a frame 1 which may be ofany convenient or preferred construction which will provide therequisite strength and this frame is supported upon ground-wheels 2, theforward wheels being mounted upon an axle 3 which is connected to theframe by a fifth wheel 4 and is equipped with suitable hounds 5 for theattachment of shafts or a draft-pole. The rear ground wheels arelooselyv fitted upon an axle or driving shaft 6 mounted in suitablebearings 7 near the rear end of the frame, and these rear wheels will beconnected with the axle or driving shaft by the usual escapement sothat, when the machine is drawn forward, motion will be imparted to theaxle or shaft and when the machine is moved rearwardly the wheels willturn upon the shaft without imparting motion thereto. These escapementdevices are well-known and it is not necessary to illustrate or describethe same in detail herein.

Upon the rear axle or driving shaft 6 I secure a sprocket-wheel 8 whichis connected by a sprocket chain 9 with a sprocket pinion 10 upon acounter-shaft 11 mounted in suitable bearings uponthe frame 1 at therear end of the same. A sprocket wheel 12 is secured upon thiscountershaft and this sprocket wheel is connected by a sprocket chain 13with a sprocket-wheel14 fixed upon a shaft 15 which is journaled insuitable bearings upon the side-bars 16 which are pivotally hung attheir rear ends upon the countershaft 11 and constitute the frame forthe conveyor. The said side-bars may be braced by cross-bars atintervals, if so desired. The shaft 15 also carries a bevelpinion orgear wheel 17 disposed between the sprocket-wheel 14 and the frame 16and between the said bevel gear wheel or pinion and the said frame is asprocket-wheel 18, as shown. A transmission shaft 19 is mounted insuitable bearings upon the side-bars or frame 16 in rear of the shaft 15and this shaft carries at one end a disk or wheel 20 provided in itsperiphery with sockets or recesses adapted to be engaged by thesprocket-teeth on pinion 14 so that the shaft 19 will be set in motionby the said sprocketpinion. Upon the opposite end of the shaft 19 issecured a sprocket-wheel 21 which is connected by a chain 22 with asprocketwheel 23 which isloosely mounted upon the adjacent end of theshaft 15 and has an elongated hub provided at its inner end with anannular flange or collar 25 which is secured directly to the end of adrum or roller 26. The elongated hub is mounted in a suitable bearingupon the side-bar 16 so that the motion of the parts will be steady andvibration of the same will be prevented, and it will be readilyunderstood that through the described gearing the drum or roller 26 willbe rotated from and about the shaft 15 but in an opposite direction tothe rotation of the said shaft. The said drum or roller 26 is providedwith an annular series of sprocket-teeth 27 at about its centerv and anendless chain 28 passes around and engages the said sprocket teeth so asto receive motion from the drum or roller. This chain also passes arounda'roller 29 carried by the countershaft 11 at the center thereof andblades or cross bars30 are secured to the said chain so as to engagebehind the beet .bodies and cause the same to move upwardly andrearwardly in the operation of the machine as will be readilyunderstood;

The bevel gear wheel 17 meshes with a bevel pinion 31 fixed upon therear end of a shaft 32 which is journaled in suitable bearings carriedby the side-bars 16 and a frame 33 connected to and projecting forwardlyfrom the said side-bars. The front end of the shaft 32 is equipped witha crank-disk 36 and a sprocket wheel, the crank disk being operativelyconnected with the cutter 35 so that, as the shaft rotates, the tops ofthe beets will be severed.

The side-bars or frame 33 are secured at their rear ends to the forwardends of the side-bars 16, journal boxes being provided upon the rearends of the bars33 to accommodate the shaft 19. At intermediate pointsof the length of the said side-bars of the frame 33 is secured arack-bar 52 which rises through the main frame and is engaged by apinion 53 sutably mounted on the main frame and operated by a shaft 54which eX- tends to the rear of the machine and is there equipped with ahand-wheel or other operating device, indicated at 55, so that the saidshaft may be conveniently operated by a person standing upon theplatform 56 which is carried by brackets or hangers 57 secured to anddepending from the main frame. The shaft 54 is equipped near its rearend with a ratchet-wheel 58 which is engaged by a dog or pawl 59 mountedupon the main frame so that after the said shaft has been manipulated toadjust the operating mechanism to the desired height or depth, it willbe held against retrograde movement and the. parts maintained in theposition in which they may be set. To relieve the strain upon the dog 59and the ratchet-wheel or disk 58, I may provide an adjustable collar orstop upon the rack-bar 52 adapted to rest upon the cross-bar of the mainframe so as to prevent the said rack-bar dropping below the frame afterit has been properly adjusted.

The uprooting members are carried by the side-bars or frame 33 andcomprise a series of blades, prongs or fingers 61 which are.

supported by a'rod or shaft 62, the outer prongs or blades being securedrigidly to the side-bars 33. The active prongs or blades are disposedbetween the said sidebars 33 and to the outer sides of the said bars Isecure the inactive prongs or guardfingers 63 which are so disposed asto pass through the ground in advance of the active prongs or blades andthereby loosen the soil at the sides of the beets and prevent the beetsfalling to one side and out of the path of the active uprooting blades.Pivotally mounted upon the rod 62 are levers 64, the front ends of saidlevers being connected by a rod 65, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4:.Immediately adjacent each blade or prong 61, a link 66 is fitted to thesaid rod 65 and extends upward therefrom to a point above the said bladeor prong, the upper end of the link being pivoted to a cross head 67having its front end pivoted to the upper rear end of a vibratory linkor arm 68 which is pivoted at its front end to the immediately adjacentprong or blade. The rear end of the cross head 67 is pivoted in asimilar manner to a rearwardly extending link or arm 69 which isprovided at its rear end with a pin 70 playing in a longitudinal slot 71formed in the adjacent blade or prong. The levers 64. are connected bypitmen 72 with crank arms or disks 73 providedat the ends ofa. shaft 74mounted in suitable bearings upon the bars This shaft 74 carries asprocket-wheel 76 at about itscenter and a sprocket chain 77 is trainedaround the said sprocket wheel and a similar sprocket wheel 78 which iscarried by a shaft 79 journaled in bearings provided therefor upon theupper edges of the side-bars 33 in rear of the shaft 7 4: as clearlyshown. The chain 77 is equipped at intervals with cross-bars or blades81 which, by the'travel of the chain, are brought against the beetbodies forced from the ground by the prongs 61 and the devices mountedthereon so that the said bodies will be moved rearwardly and deliveredto the conveyer consisting of the chain 28 and the cross-bars or blades30. The shaft 79 is equipped at its outer end with a sprocket-wheel 82around which and the sprocket 18 a chain 83 is trained. It will thus beseen that the chain 77 and the beet bodies. shaking mechanism comprisingthe blades 61 and the parts mounted thereon, are all operated from theshaft 15, bearings beingprovided on the frame 33 for said shaft so thatthe proper relation of the several shafts will be maintained.

It is thought the action of the several instrumentalities just describedwill be readily understood. As the machine is drawn forward over thefield the motion of the driving shaft 6 will be transmitted through thesprocket-wheel 8 and chain 9 to the sprocket-pinion 10 and thecounter-shaft 11, from which it will be transmitted through thesprocket-Wheel 12 and the chain 13 to the sprocket-wheel 14; and theshaft 15. The rotation of the shaft 15 will be transmitted verticalplanes. The movement of the levers 64 will be transmitted directly tothe rod 65 and the links 66 carried by the said rod will be therebycaused to move upwardly and downwardly and thereby actuate the crossheads 67. When the cross heads 67 are in their lowermost positions theywill lie approximately flush with the upper edges of the respectiveadjacent blades or prongs 61 so that as the said blades or prongs moveforwardly through the ground they will pass under and at the sides ofthe beet bodies without coming into actual contact with the sides of thesaid bodies. The movement of the parts will be so timed that after theprongs are directly under the bodies and the soil has been therebyloosened the cross heads 67 will be raised and the beet bodies therebyuprooted so that they will fall backward upon the upper edges of theblades or prongs in rear of the cross heads where they will be engagedby the blades 81 and moved to the rear conveyer, the blades orcross-bars 30 of which will then engage them and carry them upwardly andrearwardly to the rear of the machine where they will fall into areceptacle provided adjacent the rearend of the conveyer.

The uprooting mechanism, comprising the cross heads 67 and the links orarms connected to the front and rear-ends of said cross-heads, willoperate smoothly and easily and is so attached to the blades or prongsthat it' will always be in proper operative position. The forward linksor arms 68 are. pivoted to the blades so that they cannot be dislodgedand will prevent vibration of the cross heads as they are raised andlowered to act upon the beet bodies. The rear links or arms 69, having apin-and-slot connection with the respective blades, will accommodate theincidental swinging movement of the cross heads and at the same timewill hold them in their proper positions relative to the respectiveblades. 7

In order to guard as far as possible against loss of the beets due tomovement of the same transversely upon the conveyer, I provide the sideframes 84 which diverge upwardly from the conveyer frame or side bars 16and consist of longitudinal rails 85 andbrackets 86 connecting the sameto the side bars 16 of the conveyer frame. By providing these sideframes the beet bodies are permitted to travel freely upon the conveyerwithout liability of being bruised through being confined withinexcessively narrow limits, and at the same time should the bodies tendto roll-off the sides of the conveyer these side frames will arrest suchtransverse movement and prevent loss of the beets. The brackets 86 aresecured to and rise from the side bars 16 and are connected by crossbars 102 which support longitudinal bars or rods 103 upon which theblades 30 ride, said bars or rods 103 being sufficiently thick to holdthe chain 28 above the cross bars 102. I thus provide a support for thebeets while the dirt whichi may be taken up with the beets may fallthrough the conveyer to the ground.

To the rear ends of the sides of the conveyer'frame I secure rearwardlyprojecting, armsor bars 87 and on the said bars I provide hooks 88adjacent the rear end of the main frame over which the upper end of asack may be engaged. The sack is then stretched somewhat rearwardly soas to lie close against the outer ends of the bars 87 and clampingplates 89 are engaged over the against the said oars 87, the saidclamping plates being drawn tightly against the said bars by cams 90fulcrumed in the outer ends month of the sack so as to hold the sack ofthe plates and adapted to bear against the outer sides of the bars asshown clearly in Fig. 6.

The machine isdrawn over a field as before stated and the operator oroperators will stand upon the platform 56 at the rear of the machine soas to drive the team and also adjust the mechanism upwardly anddownwardlyaccordingly as it is to enter the ground or is to be raisedabove the same to permit the removal of the machine from the field, aswill be readily'un'derstood. The beets will be delivered by therearlconveyer directly into a sack supported at the rear end of the mainframe and when the sack is filled it is removed and an empty sacksubstituted therefor, the operator subsequently tying the filled sackand placing the same upon the ground so that it may be subsequentlygathered. The forward motion of the machine, as before stated, willcause the links 66 and the parts connected therewith to rise and fall sothat at regular intervals the cross parts of my apparatus are compactlyarranged and are positively driven so that the machine will operateeasily and efficiently.

The sprocket-wheel 10 is loose on the shaft 11 and I provide means forlocking it to-the shaft in connection wtih a spacing collar or sleevedisposed between the main frame and the sprocket whereby the sprocketwill be prevented from sliding outwardly on the shaft. At the inner sideofthe sprocket, a spacing ring 108 is fitted around the shaft betweensaid sprocket and the sprocket 12 so that the sprocket 10 will be heldagainst all axial movement. The means for locking the sprocket 10 to theshaft is carried by the.

spacing collar at' the outer side of the sprocket and connected with alever 110 which is fulcrumed on the side of the main frame and. projectsrearwardly therefrom over a bracket 112 secured to the frame. Ihisbracket is provided with spaced openings 113 and a latch 11 1 is mountedon the lever and carries a pin adapted to engage one of said openingsand thereby hold the lever in a set position. When the machine is tooperate, the lever is moved inwardly thereby carrying the lockingmechanism into engagement w1th the sprocket 10 so that it will be lockedto the shaft 11 and set the shaft in motion. If the machine is to bemoved to masses to and depending therefrom, cross heads disposedadjacent the blades, links pivoted to and. depending from the crossheads, a connecting rod carrying the said links, and means for vibratingsaid rod.

3. In a machine for the purpose set forth, a series of blades secured toand depending therefrom, cross heads disposed adjacent the blades, andlinks pivoted to and depending from the said cross heads, a connectingrod carrying said links, means for vibrating said rod, and links pivotedto the front and rear ends of the cross heads respectively, one of saidlinks being pivoted to the adjacent blade and the other of said linkshaving a sliding connection with the said blade.

4. In a machine for the purpose set forth, the combination of a frame, aseries of blades secured to and depending therefrom, levers pivoted tosome of said blades and extending longitudinally of the same, a rodcarried by the front ends of said levers, links carried by and risingfrom said rod, cross heads pivoted to the upper ends of said links, armspivoted to the said cross heads and connected with, the respectiveblades, a crank-shaft mounted upon the frame, means for rotating saidcrank-shaft, and pitmen connecting said crankshaft with the said levers.

5. In a machine'for the purpose set forth, the combination of a frame, aseries of blades secured to and depending from the said frame,vertically movable members carried by said blades, and prongs secured toand depending from the sides of the frame in advance of the said blades.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OHMER H. BARTHOLOMEW.

